


she's a child of light in a world of pain

by realisations



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: (which is to be expected), Adopted Sibling Relationship, Credence Barebone Deserves Better, Credence Barebone Needs a Hug, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, It'll get better someday, They both do really, just not today
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 17:24:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20411539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realisations/pseuds/realisations
Summary: in the night of his life, modesty is credence's beacon of light.





	she's a child of light in a world of pain

A beacon, Credence thinks. That's just what Modesty is.

He remembers the day he first saw her - a wide-eyed toddler brimming with curiosity about her new surroundings. Modesty had no idea that her new home wasn't what it seemed.

She knows better now. She learned very early on, the first time she took a slap to the face for dropping her fork at dinner.

Credence knows better too. But that didn't stop him from looking down at Modesty that day, into her eyes that still held warmth, and daring to wonder if things might be different with her around.

But this was a chance worth taking. Modesty, as it happens, loves to talk. Whether she wishes to remember her family, her real family, or quietly confess that she never wants to eat another bite of her adoptive mother's pea soup, she quickly learns that Credence is her only willing audience and behaves accordingly. It makes the tedium of folding leaflets go by much faster.

Modesty knows that this is the way things are, and there's no sense in denying it. But she doesn't need to pretend otherwise when only her brother is around. Credence knows she thinks the church pews are so uncomfortable she would rather sit on the floor, and that she sometimes throws her remaining leaflets away when she grows cold and tired. Modesty is someone Credence can agree with (not that he's ever been brave enough to toss his leaflets, but he has wanted to.) Mary Lou may be spoon-feeding the girl her beliefs, but for now at least, this is something they can share.

Sometimes Modesty even slips in during the night, bringing along rags to wrap his bleeding hands in. She never stays long - they both know they can't risk it. But even if Credence's hands don't feel better, his heart does, warmed by the light that Modesty gives.

No, that's not quite right. It's not the light that she gives, it's the light she is.

Modesty isn't perfect. She can't simply take Credence by the hand, lead him away from the church, and never come back. She can't take away all his pain, both inside and out.

But she can be his only source of light.

She can be his beacon.


End file.
